


Life In The Fast Lane (Rewrite)

by Livelongandfangirling



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: F/M, Set 2013-2015, Slow Burn, Some Fluff, Some angst, Some hurt/comfort, complex team mates, rated teen for occasional swearing, rewrite of an old fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 06:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17038682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Livelongandfangirling/pseuds/Livelongandfangirling
Summary: Formula 1 hasn't seen a female driver compete in the sport in over 20 years. But in 2013 all that changes.





	Life In The Fast Lane (Rewrite)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Life In the Fast Lane](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1121187) by [Livelongandfangirling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Livelongandfangirling/pseuds/Livelongandfangirling). 



> This is something that I've had on the back of my mind for a while, back when I first wrote Life In The Fast Lane I didn't take it too seriously and probably didn't put the right amount of thought that the story deserved. I feel like my writing has improved a lot over the past few years, plus when I re-read it when I started work on Change In Colour I found so much that I wanted to reformat, tweak around or expand on.  
> I can't promise regular updates as this is just a little side project for me (and something to help me fight through writer's block).  
> I'm still keeping the original story up (I've made it available to registered users only) and the plot will be pretty much the same, but if you've read the original or are completely new to the story I really hope you enjoy this!

_10 th January 2013 – Woking_

The hotel room was exquisite – or at least was styled to be. The walls and floor were a similar shade of chocolate brown, with a cream coloured double bed sat in the middle, pressed up against a quilted headrest that reached right up to the ceiling. Seanagh was sat in a caramel coloured armchair, her back firmly pressed against the small cushion as she stared out of the window. All she could really see was trees and the occasional house, not that the view really mattered because she was far too nervous to appreciate it anyway.

Arguably, today was about to be one of the biggest days of her whole life. Two days ago she was in Edinburgh with her family celebrating her 24th birthday, and today was her first visit to the McLaren Technology Centre, the home of her brand new team.

She sighed and stood up from the chair and glanced at her silver watch (a sponsor requirement curtsey of Tag Heuer). Apparently Seanagh needed to be driven to the factory for her first day, and someone from the team would be waiting for her in the lobby at exactly 9am, and that was fifteen long, long minutes away.

Seanagh had known back in December just what a big deal her Formula 1 debut was going to be, it wasn’t going to matter that she was a British driver driving for a British team, or how long it had been since a woman last raced in F1. She was the first woman to finish on a podium, win a race and championships in Formula Three. So when McLaren came calling after Lewis Hamilton announced he was going to pastures new, Seanagh said yes without any hesitation, not even thinking about the mass of attention she was going to get. Maybe that was why McLaren had paid for such a nice hotel room.

She decided to walk into the bathroom, that in complete contrast to the rest of the room was stark white with marble style panelling on the walls, and every fixture finished in silver chrome. Seanagh look at her outfit again for the third time and sighed, burying her hands into her dark curly hair. In the email the team had sent her she was told to dress smart-casual, and considering that it was the middle of Winter she didn’t fancy wearing a dress. So she’d picked a hunter green blouse with a pleated collar and flowy sleeves that met in a satin cuff around her wrists, paired with black skinny jeans and dark brown brogues. Sensible footwear to hopefully help her walk through the slush without falling flat on her face.

Seanagh felt comfortable in her decision to not wear anything more on her face than tinted moisturiser and lip balm as she checked her phone again, re-reading the messages from her parents, brother, personal trainer Vanessa and a few of her close friends. All of them wishing her well on her first day. Just as she was about to slide her phone into her pocket it rang, her best friend’s name flashing on the screen.

“Hey Mia” Seanagh sighed as she let herself fall backwards into the bed. “I hope you’re calling to tell me that my flat is still in one piece”

“Of course it is you idiot” Mia, who was from Fife in Eastern Scotland, had become Seanagh’s flatmate not long after she had bought her new North London flat at the last minute. They had known each other for roughly five years, and more often than not were the only two girls competing in the same series. “The big question is” Mia paused, presumably to take a sip of coffee. “Are you still in one piece?”

“Just about” Seanagh replied quietly, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m leaving in a few minutes”

“Hey, you’ll be fine. Trust me. And if it all goes to pot you can win over the mechanics today at least” Seanagh just hummed in response, she was already dreading just how she was going to be perceived. Female racing drivers were apparently like unicorns, and _successful_ female racing drivers were supposedly like blue moons. “I know it sounds stupid and I know you’re coming off the back of you-know-what, but you’re going to be okay. I’m sure of it”

“Thanks Mia” Seanagh sighed, standing up from the bed at the time on her watch was now approaching five to nine.

“And hey at least you’re meeting _Jenson Button_ today” Seanagh rolled her eyes at how eager her friend sounded and shook her head.

“I’m sure there’s more to him than his so called dashing good looks”

“Whatever. I need to let you go and kick ass today, call me later okay?”

“I will, see you later” Seanagh frowned as her phone clicked signalling that Mia had hung up, and was now probably tucking into her breakfast.

Refusing to let her nerves get the better of her, and the fact it was almost nine o’clock, Seanagh put her phone into her handbag, pulled on her long black coat and put her handbag in the crook of her arm before picking up her key card and leaving the safety of her hotel room. She opted to use the stairs instead of the lift and huffed when she walked into the large reception area, looking around for whoever was supposed to be meeting her. All she had to go on was a name – Richard Wilson – and that he worked in the team’s PR department.

She made her way across the room, past the reception desk and towards an area to the side scattered with armchairs and coffee tables, all yet again in varying shades of brown. Seanagh spotted an empty one to sit at and wait for the mysterious Richard to appear, when he ended up finding her first.

“Excuse me” Seanagh turned round and put on a polite smile. “Richard Wilson, from McLaren” Richard was tall, probably just brushing six foot, but then again anyone looked tall next to Seanagh’s five-foot four frame. He had jet black hair and small warm brown eyes; and appeared to be smiling at her genuinely as he held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you”

“Lovely to meet you too Richard” Seanagh allowed herself to smile a little more as she shook Richard’s hand, she suddenly felt a bit foolish to not have her manager Becks by her side. Even though she knew that she had to get through today by herself.

“We should probably get going, the factory is only a couple of miles away, but you know what traffic is like when there’s even a hint of snow” Seanagh gave a puff of air and a chuckle in response, she knew that problem all too well. She followed Richard out of the hotel entrance and towards the car park, stopping when they reached a black Mercedes. “I wish this was mine, but I’ve just been leant it for the day, hop in”

“The team just let you have a brand new off the line Merc?” Seanagh asked as she got in the front passenger seat, admiring the grey interior. Richard just sighed as he leaned back in his seat before starting the car and fastening his seatbelt.

“Pretty sure it’s the team trying to give you a good first impression” Richard whispered with a shrug as he slowly drove out of the hotel car park, heading straight for the McLaren Technology Centre.

 

Jenson sighed as he polished off his espresso, sat in the canteen looking out over the lake that hugged the factory building. It was an awfully cold grey day in Woking, considering that Jenson was British he really should have been used to it, but maybe living in Monaco was having a greater effect on him than he thought.

He was supposed to be meeting his new team mate today, he didn’t know anything about her other than a name, the picture on her twitter profile and the one that had been used in the team’s press release, and that she was the first female F1 driver since 1992. Seanagh Palmer was who anyone in F1 could be talking about all Winter Break.

As Jenson pondered whether that was a good thing, Johnathan Neale appeared and made a bee line for Jenson.

“Richard just texted, he’s a few minutes away. You should probably head upstairs” Jenson nodded, and picked up his empty coffee cup to put in the nearest bin. “Martin’s asked me to be part of the welcome brigade, but I take it you know where you’re going?”

“Yeah I do, my days of getting lost around here are far behind me” Jenson chuckled as he left the canteen and headed towards one of the spiral stairs that sat in the middle of the promenade. He paused as he climbed the stairs to briefly check his phone, before walking with his hands in his pockets towards the meeting room.

 

It turned out that Richard was incredibly chatty, though Seanagh did wonder if he was compensating for her near silence. It was nice however for someone to take interest in who she was, rather than what she did.

“So, how big of an entourage should we be expecting at testing?” Richard joked as they passed through another set of traffic lights.

“No one really, not until the final test anyway. But it’ll just be my parents since my brother’s going back to uni soon”

“Ah, no boyfriend then?” Seanagh didn’t expect to be so taken aback by that one, she took in a sharp breath before answering quietly.

“No, no boyfriend” Richard hummed and stayed quiet for a moment, not realising he had hit a sore spot. The car stayed quiet for a couple of minutes before Richard started speaking again, pretending as if nothing had happened.

“Have you been to the factory before then?”

“No” Seanagh sighed leaning back in her seat. “My deal was done in a bit of a hurry, since the team wanted all the paperwork done before Christmas, so I signed the contract in some London hotel” She had to admit though, Seanagh would never be forgetting that day in a hurry.

“Yeah that sounds like Ron and Martin” Richard hummed as he turned off a roundabout, and quickly slowed as he approached a security checkpoint. “Morning Jamie” The press officer pulled an ID Card out of his pocket and showed it to the man on duty.

“What on earth did you do to let them give you that?” The security guard huffed in disbelief, eyeing up the black Mercedes.

“It’s just for today sadly, pretty sure it’s just to show off” Richard leaned back and gestured to Seanagh, who had already pulled out her passport. The guard’s eyes widened as he stared at Seanagh for a few silent moments.

“Lovely to meet you Miss, considering I saw your face in every paper last month I’ll let you off just this once” Jamie wagged a finger has he pressed a button to raise the security arm. “Have a nice day now” Richard waved goodbye to the guard as he slowly drove away.

“Well then, welcome to the factory”

The McLaren Technology Centre was a flat, semi-circular two-story high building sat next to a huge lake that from above helped from a full circle. Panes of glass completely covered the front of the building, it was difficult to see from the road that ran parallel to the edge of the lake, but Seanagh could just make out a row of Formula 1 cars inside. It was surprisingly grand for a building that wasn’t even ten years old, but it really did make a statement. Seanagh let out a long slow whistle as Richard pulled the car to a stop right by the front door.

“On a normal day you’ll have to use the car park at the back, but like I said the bosses are really laying it on thick today” Richard sighed as he switched off the car and held the keys in his hands. “One day I’ll be able to afford this, come on” Richard got out first and handed the keys to another member of McLaren staff, who Richard instructed to be very carful when driving the Merc back to the showroom.

Seanagh took in a deep breath before getting out of the car, and slowly walked round to meet Richard. She walked by his side as they approached the large glass doors with her shoulder back and her head held high, if she wasn’t feeling completely confident Seanagh at least going to try and look it.

The glass doors slid open automatically and standing on the other side was Team Principle Martin Whitmarsh alongside Team COO Johnathan Neale. Seanagh smiled brightly as Martin greeted her.

“Good morning Seanagh, nice to see you” She just smiled as Martin shook her hand and introduced her to Johnathan.

“Welcome to the team at last, we can give you a your of the factory later but we should probably head upstairs” Richard happily lead the way while Martin and Johnathan walked with Seanagh, asking her menial things about the weather, how the drive over was, if her hotel was adequate enough, and how they were planning on her running in the simulator the next day (that was the only thing that got a genuinely excited response). And before she knew it Richard was holding the door to a meeting room wide open, and Martin and Johnathan were leading her inside.

 

Jenson wasn’t entirely sure why he stood up when Martin and Johnathan entered the room, but he did. He smoothed down the front of his shirt and adjusted his cufflinks, looking up right as his new team mate entered the room. The first thing he thought upon seeing her was that she was shorter than pictures suggested, and that her smile was almost blinding.

“Hi I’m Jenson. It’s nice to meet you” He stepped forward with a hand outstretched, he almost smiled with relief when she shook it straight away.

“Seanagh, nice to meet you too” As she spoke Jenson was reminded that his team mate was another Brit, from Northampton… or was it Northamptonshire? He couldn’t quite remember. She took the empty seat next to him none the less, after taking off her coat and hanging it on the back of the chair.

The meeting didn’t last long, fifteen to twenty minutes at most, and it wasn’t really a proper meeting as such. More the higher up management and a few of the more important board members getting acquainted with their new driver, plus five minutes at the end roughly going over the schedule for testing and the first half of the season.

When everything was done everyone around the table stood up, with the suits and other important people going to leave after shaking Seanagh’s hand.

“Oh one more thing Seanagh” Martin spoke quietly once it was just himself, Richard and the two drivers left. “I just want to be clear, if anyone within the team makes you feel unwelcome, or is in any way disrespectful towards you. I want you to tell me straight away, so we can nip any of that behaviour in the bud” Jenson carefully watched Seanagh’s reaction. She looked very taken aback before a grateful smile washed over her face.

“Thank you Martin” Seanagh nodded before hanging her handbag and coat off the crook of her arm.

“I can take Seanagh to get her ID pass and locker key before we go ahead with the tour” Richard smiled, clapping his hands together eagerly. Jenson stayed stood on the spot, knowing that his presence wasn’t really required but also that it would be very rude of him to just leave.

“Yes good idea, then the hard work starts tomorrow” Martin’s joke did get a laugh out of Jenson’s new team mate. Just as Richard and Seanagh were about to leave Jenson took a step forward, wanting to be as polite as possible.

“Enjoy the tour, hopefully you won’t get lost”

“Thanks Jenson” Seanagh smiled a bright, confident smile. “See you later” And with a sparkle in her peridot green eyes and a swish of dark brown curls, she was gone.

“I hope you won’t have any problems with this Jenson” Martin looked at his driver sternly.

“Of course not, I have raced against female drivers before. Seanagh seems qualified enough to be here anyway” Jenson bounced up on his toes with his hands in his pockets while Martin tapped his foot and looked out of the window.

“I can only hope that everyone else will be just as welcoming”

 

Almost an hour and a half and a full tour of the factory later, Seanagh found herself in the canteen with Richard as Martin had left to go back to his office. Her day was almost over, all that was left was for her to meet her mechanics and race engineer before she was free to go back to her hotel and prepare from her run in the team’s simulator the next day.

The canteen was filled with light thanks to the floor to ceiling windows that gave everyone a view of the lake and the vast areas of greenery outside the factory, which could be seen now that the grey clouds were starting to split and let through the odd ray of sunshine.

“So what’ll it be?” Richard asked as he led the way towards the bar.

“Tea. Earl Grey with milk and sugar… no. Better make it sweetener, or my personal trainer will kill me” Seanagh sighed, not wanting to change her preferred mug of tea, or upset Vanessa. Richard happily ordered and paid for their drinks and led Seanagh over to a free table. Each one of them was the same, a stark white square with matching chairs that contrasted the dark grey floor. “The team has a very distinct colour scheme” Seanagh observed as she took in her surroundings.

“That’s Ron’s input, everything has to be just so with him. He refused to change a cracked tile on the boulevard once because the replacement wasn’t the exact same colour”

“Wow” Seanagh scoffed, her eyes wide open. She had heard many things about Ron Dennis, but she didn’t expect his want for perfection to be so militant.

“But you, hopefully, shouldn’t have to worry about him. He very much takes a back seat with the team now a days, lets Martin run things. Jenson and Lewis barely saw him last year let alone spoke to him” Richard shrugged and sipped away at his latte. “You’ll be fine”

“I’ve got enough people to impress as it is” Seanagh chewed on her bottom lip and glanced out of the window.

“It’s the same for everyone” She knew Richard was just trying to be reassuring, but it did nothing. Ever since she had first sat in a go-kart Seanagh had always felt a weight of expectation on her shoulders; she’d been laughed at as a child, many of her competitors and their Dads laughed wondering what a girl was doing there. That had followed her though her entire racing career, even in 2012 when she won her third single seater title, it was never enough for some people. They’d say that she had been lucky, or simply had too good of a car. She knew that she wasn’t going to get a warm welcome from the entire F1 paddock at testing. And if she had to constantly beat Jenson Button to get everyone else’s respect then so be it.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! <3


End file.
